The Darkest Kind of Vengeance
by Legion Fardreamer
Summary: Leftover Death Eaters ambushed Harry and his family on a picnic, killing Ginny and the kids. Harry, feeling that he has nothing left to live for, uses dark rituals to alter himself into a creature of darkness and revenge. Not a romantic story.
1. Chapter 1

The strange blade glinted in the moonlight. The man who held it knelt at the center of a circle drawn on the floor. The circle itself gleamed wetly, it's color matching that of the dark fluid running down from his wrists. His voice was simultaneously growing weaker and echoing louder as he spoke.

"Essence of Shadow, heed the call of my blood. I offer my blood in sacrifice for the powers of these creatures, whose essence I hold. Form and function, I call for thee."

On the floor before him, but within the circle and easy reach, lay four bowls. Each contained pieces from different creatures, all of whom were associated with darkness. Spinnerets of an acromantula, wing bones of a bat, fang of a basilisk, and part of the shroud of a dementor. He let his blood spill into each of the bowls, and then carved the necessary runes into the skin of his chest. The circle began to glow, radiating a sickly green light, as smoke began to emanate from the bowls. The smoke poured into the runes, causing them to glow with the same eldritch green light. Soon, the ritual was complete, and the man collapsed, blood loss finally taking it's toll. A shorter creature came out of the darkness, muttering to himself. He seemed rather pleased as he snapped his fingers, causing the man's wounds to close.

"The master has done well. Kreacher thinks the Mistress would be very pleased, he does."

Kreacher snapped his fingers again, levitating the man's limp body out of the room and into a bedroom down on the second floor. He tucked the man in with a kindly look on his face.

"Yes, Master Harry Potter, Kreacher thinks the Mistress would be very proud of you."

Ron and Hermione were both looking very nervous as the entered the front door of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. Neither of them had seen their friend for several weeks, since the funeral for Ginny and the children. Ron could only imagine what his friend was going through, Hermione was more concerned about what Harry was going to do. After the funeral, Harry had refused all contact with friends and family. He had holed himself up in Number Twelve, and refused entry to all visitors. Ron feared for Harry's safety, but Hermione feared for his sanity. The look in his eyes as he stood there listening to others eulogize his wife and children bespoke of a man crushed between rage and despair. His physical wounds had mostly healed, but Hermione feared the emotional scars may just be too much for her friend to bear.

"Hermione? Are you sure about this, love? Harry's not going to be happy we're here, you know."

She shook her head, and led the way into the house, ignoring her husband's desire to ignore what she feared was his best friend's descent into madness. She started towards the study, but stopped when she saw Kreacher skulking down the stairwell with a breakfast tray in his hands. Upon seeing them, the house elf froze.

"The blood traitor and his mudblood mate. What does they want, we wonders?"

Hermione stifled her anger at the slur, and said "We're here to see Harry. Where is he, Kreacher?"

"The Master is sleeping. Not to be disturbed. Won't like being woke, he won't. Might blame Kreacher."

Hermione rushed up the stairs, leaving behind a bewildered Ron. She shoved open the door to the master bedroom, and gasped as she saw Harry laying there. The runes he had carved into his chest were quite familiar to Hermione, although she could not believe she was seeing them on something other than the page of a book. His sleep seemed peaceful enough, but Hermione remembered how Ginny had said he was always quiet, even when he had nightmares. She went over to the bed, and sat down on the edge, placing a gentle hand on his chest.

"Oh Merlin, Harry, what have you done?"

The sound of her voice caused Harry's eyes to snap open, startling her. His eyes seemed to glow a sickly green for a moment, but that moment passed quickly. He seemed confused.

"Hermione? What are you doing here?"

She reached up to place a hand on his cheek, and then took him by the chin.

"I'm cleaning up one of your messes, as per usual. What in Merlin's name have you done to yourself this time?"

"And who says I've done anything to myself," Harry said coldly.

"The runes you carved into your chest, Harry. Honestly! What were you thinking? How could you do something do something so horrible? What would Gin-..."

Harry's harsh glare, and the deep throated, inhuman growl escaping his lips silenced her immediately. His voice when he next spoke was deep, gravelly, and menacing.

"Don't you dare finish that sentence, Hermione. What's done is done. I'm going to make them pay for what they did to my family."

Hermione stood up, closing her eyes.

"Why didn't you come to me or Ron for help, Harry? We could have helped you. There was no need to do this to yourself."

He threw back the covers and stood up next to the bed, the shadows covering the upper half of his body. In the darkness, his body metamorphosed into a monstrous creature with large pointed ears, enormous wings, fangs, claws, and eyes that glowed with a sickly green light.

"You have a family now. Children who need you more than I do. Neither of you can go where I am going."

Harry closed his eyes, and resumed his natural form, although his eyes continued to glow in the dark. He took her by the arm, and led her back downstairs where Ron had decided to retreat to the kitchen. He was just putting the finishing touches on a large sandwich when he saw Harry's eyes.

"Bloody hell! Harry?! What did you do to your eyes?"

Hermione was unceremoniously pushed into Ron's arms.

"Take her home, Ron. And no matter what you hear, or what you see, do not come after me. I'm part dementor now, and chasing me is not a good idea. Oh, and one more thing. Both of you practice your Patronus charms."

With that, Harry walked into the shadows behind the door, and vanished into them.


	2. Chapter 2

Ron blinked at where his friend had just faded out of existence into the shadows on the wall, his jaw hanging.

"He's gone bloody mental! Barking, he is."

"We've got to stop him, Ron."

Ron disbelieving stare turned to his wife.

"Have you gone mental along with him?! He's Harry bloody Potter! Remember him? He's the guy that _taught_ us more about defense than we'd have ever learned on our own. Do you really think he's going to let us stop him? We'll be lucky if he doesn't kill us."

Hermione felt her eyes sting with unshed tears.

"Ron, we have to! We're the only ones who have even a chance of stopping him."

Ron shook his head.

"I'm not even certain we should stop him, love. My sister, my niece and nephews, they're all dead, and my brother-in-law means to avenge them. Truthfully, I say let him go do what needs to be done. We ought to be backing him up."

This time, it was Hermione's jaw that dropped.

"Ronald, you just don't get it. Harry's done something to himself. I saw the runes he cut into his chest. He won't just be trying to avenge Ginny and the children, he'll be trying to take revenge for every single wrong ever done to him in his life. In case you forget, you've made more than one mistake with him in the past. That makes you a target. Eventually, I'll be one too. Harry's turned himself into some kind of dark creature. He's no longer human, and we have to take that into account. The runes on his chest allowed him to sacrifice a part of himself, most likely some of his blood, in order to take parts of other creatures into himself. We need to find out what they were."

Ron seemed torn on the issue. He cast his eyes upwards, and sighed heavily.

"Okay, 'Mione. Where do we start?"

It took Hermione all of about thirty seconds to figure out what Harry had done, once she found the site of his ritual. Ron's expression changed from confusion to sick horror as she explained to him that Harry was apparently now part acromantula. The other creatures did not bother him quite so much as that one, although finding out that his friend had willingly become part dementor ran a close second.

"Well," Hermione said, dusting herself off. "At least we have an advantage now."

"How so?"

"If Harry's part dementor now, that means he's probably vulnerable to a patronus charm. That gives us an edge we didn't have before. That's what he meant by telling us to practice our patronus charms! He was telling us how to stop him!"

A serious look crossed Ron's face, one she only saw when he was truly analyzing a tactical problem. Her husband was nothing if not a master of tactics.

"There aren't many people in the world that Harry truly dislikes. Not many that are still alive, at any rate. Who's still around that really annoys him?"

The two put their heads together, and after a moment came to the same conclusion. Ron groaned when he realized what they would have to do.

"Do we really have to save her? I can't think of anyone more deserving of Harry's attentions than that toad faced bitch."

Hermione scowled.

"Personally, I agree, but we can't let Harry do this. Who knows what would happen if he's allowed to go through with this? He's obviously deranged, and he needs help."

"All right then, but Umbridge tries anything funny, I may just help Harry out with her."

By the time the Weasleys got to the Ministry, it was fairly obvious that Harry had beaten them there. The entire place was in an uproar, and it only got worse as they got nearer to Umbridge's office. Ron cleared a path for them, and upon entering the office, immediately turned around and vomited. Hermione came in, and for a few seconds, she could not focus on what she was seeing. Her mind kept refusing to allow her to perceive it properly. Finally forcing herself to accept what she was seeing, everything swam into focus.

Dolores Umbridge had been pinned to the wall behind her desk with what appeared to be quill pens. She had also been disemboweled. On the wall to the right of the entryway, a message was written in her entrails. It was only five words, but those words echoed through Hermione's mind as she exited the room to join her husband in regurgitation.

It read "I must not tell lies."


	3. Chapter 3

Ron and Hermione spent the next several hours answering questions for the Ministry officials who interrogated them relentlessly. Ron did his very best not to lose his temper at the treatment, but Hermione's nerves began to fray. She finally exploded, her screams causing several aurors to enter the room with wands at the ready.

"Why don't you ignorant sods do your damned jobs, and help me find Harry?! How in Merlin's name could holding us here to be questioned help anyone in any way? Are you dunderheads really that thick? Were you born this stupid, or was it part of your auror training?!"

Ron, who was in a room down the hall, shook his head woefully.

"You might want to tell those guys holding her in there to let her loose. It's going get ugly if you don't."

The sounds of a pitched spell battle came only seconds later, and Ron groaned.

"Told ya so. She's going to be hell to live with now. Thanks a lot, you bloody shite bags."

He saw his wife striding furiously past the door, and the auror who shared the room gaped in amazement. Her voice echoed back down the hall.

"Come along, Ronald. We're leaving."

"Yes dear."

********

Harry's eyes narrowed as he stalked his prey. It had been three days since he had attacked and killed Dolores Umbridge, and he could feel the hunger building. His anger rose alongside it as he remembered all the lies the woman had told about himself and his friends over the years. Hermione had tried to report her as an unregistered animagus, but Skeeter had beaten her to the punch and registered herself before her treachery came to light. With nothing to hold over the woman, she once again became a paparazzi nightmare.

Time to put an end to that.

He shadow walked into Skeeter's office, and settled down to wait. His hunger was clawing at his insides, and his patience began to fray. By the time the door finally opened, Harry was no longer thinking of anything other than feeding.

"Expecto Patronum!"

Harry's shriek of rage and pain caused Hermione to break the spell and cover her ears. Upon recovering, she realized that Harry was holding his human form, and was staring at her in disbelief. His glowing green eyes showed hurt and betrayal. He cast his eyes over her shoulder to take in the scene behind her, and saw Rita Skeeter scribbling furiously on a notepad. Turning back to Hermione, he said calmly "You're going to regret not letting me get her, you know."

"I know, but you know I had to stop you."

"I know. You know they'll have to kill me. They won't be able to hold me forever."

"Actually, I've managed to fix that. Put this on."

She handed him a silver chain with a small white stone. Harry did as he was asked, and what little remained of his hunger abated entirely. He relaxed a bit, and his human form melted away. The runes on his chest glowed briefly, and then flickered out. Harry chuckled quietly.

"Finally managed to work out the kinks on your 'Patronus Stone,' eh? Well done. Are you to be my jailer?"

"It seems so. You've become dangerous, Harry."

"Only to those who hurt others out of cruelty. You people can't seem to police yourselves very well, so I'm going to do it for you. There will not be any more Voldemorts or Lucius Malfoys in our world. I'll see to that. They can't hide in the shadows anymore. I _**am**_ the shadows now."

Hermione shook her head sadly, tears forming at the edges of her chocolate brown eyes.

"Come along, Harry. I'll escort you to your holding cell. You'll be held there until your trial."

He surprised her with his desperate whisper.

"Is it quiet there? I still hear their screams, Hermione. Is it quiet there?"

She was crying openly now, and nodded her head.

"Yes, Harry. It's quiet there. I'll make sure of that for you."

Harry's spider/bat head nodded, and he resumed his human guise. His glowing green eyes were the only thing that revealed his monstrous nature. Hermione led him out of the office, but stopped when she realized he had come to a halt in front of the still scribbling Skeeter. The reporter looked up and gasped when she heard him speak.

"Rita. You can write bad things about me all you like. My family is gone now, and I have nothing left to lose. Hear me now, and understand. If you don't stop hurting people with your writings, you and I will meet again. Consider that a Wizard's Oath."

He turned and nodded to Hermione, who led him out of the building, where the aurors were waiting to take him into custody.

********

Two weeks later...

Harry was led into the courtroom, and placed into the cage. He seemed emotionless and indifferent to his treatment. Hermione and Ron, however, could see the underlying edge of anger and sadness. Ron leaned over to whisper in her ear.

"Are you sure it was such a good idea to wake him up? He looks right pissed off, and we've seen what he can do when he's pissed off."

"It's alright, love. His stone is charged, so he won't be attacking anyone out of hunger."

Ron seemed to take that as an answer he wanted, and sat back in his seat. The court was called to session, and the charges were read. Several experts were called in, answering questions about dark magic, dementors, acromantulas, and sundry other subjects. Hermione and Ron paid little attention to any of it, and it seemed that Harry shared their sentiments. It was not until the medical examiner came in and whispered in the prosecutor's ear that everyone sat up to take notice. The message was delivered to rest of the Wizengamot, and then announced to the courtroom.

"Harry James Potter, you stand accused of the crime of murder most foul, and use of the dark arts. Ordinarily, you would be facing life imprisonment or execution, but circumstances have arisen that have altered our outlook somewhat. Dolores Umbridge, according to the medical examiner, bore the Dark Mark. As it was a Death Eater that was killed, and the only other crimes you've committed are the use of the dark arts, without harm to another living soul in the transfiguration of yourself into the creature now before us, your sentence shall be two years imprisonment in Azkaban. This court is adjourned. Mrs. Weasley, you will remove the prisoner."

Hermione nearly didn't hear the command, so shocked was she by the revelation of Dolores Umbridge's true allegiance. Ron summed up his opinion fairly efficiently.

"Bloody hell."

********

Two years later...

Hermione sat in the cell with Harry, both of them silently reading. Harry closed his book, and sighed. Abandoning his human form, he looked over at his friend. She was used to his sudden shape shifting by that point, and assumed he had something to say.

"I'm to be freed today."

Hermione nodded, encouraging him to go on.

"I haven't the faintest idea what to do with my life now. The changes I made are irreversible, and without Ginny and the children, I haven't much purpose. What do I do, 'Mione? How do I move on?"

He wrapped his membranous wings around himself, shivering with a chill that had nothing to do with the room temperature. Hermione closed her book as well, and said "I can't answer that for you, Harry. I'm the 'Books and cleverness' friend, remember? You were always the one that gave us purpose. Ginny was my friend, and I know she wouldn't want you to torture yourself, no matter what you've become. The best you can do is cherish her memory, remember how happy she and the children made you, and figure it out from there."

Harry's human form returned to smirk at her.

"You really are helpful, you know that? Such a font of useful information."

"Oh, go Patronus yourself."

The two shared a quiet laugh, but broke off at the sound of a key turning in the lock on Harry's cell door. Harry stood at attention as the warden of the prison came in.

"Harry James Potter, you have hereby served your sentence, and are released on your own cognizance. Go your way in peace, and do no harm."

Harry nodded, acknowledging the man's words. He strode out of the cell, Hermione following him from a few feet behind. Making his way out of the prison block, he turned a corner, nearly running over Rita Skeeter. The woman smiled ferociously, and pulled out her notepad and quill.

"So, Harry, how does it feel to be a free man, or whatever it is you are now?"

A few moments later, Harry finished webbing Rita to the wall and returned to his human form. As he walked away, he said quipped over his shoulder, "I feel much better now, actually. Thanks, Rita!"

********

Harry only retrieved a few of his things from Number Twelve, the Deathly Hallows being chief among those things, before stepping through the shadows into the Weasley home. He was a bit surprised to find himself walking into the middle of one of Ron and Hermione's infamous screaming matches.

"Did I come at a bad time?"

Ron turned to Harry, a fierce scowl on his face.

"Yes. Get out!"

Harry couldn't help the flare of green light that marked his irritation at being spoken to that way, but put up is hands in a mock surrender and stepped back into the shadows. However, instead of leaving the house, he merely went to the stairway and wrapped himself up in his cloak. He found himself in perfect position to hear the rest of the argument.

Ron shook his head in disbelief.

"I can't believe that bloody thing just waltzed in here like that."

Hermione's jaw dropped.

"That 'thing' you're referring to, Ronald, is our best friend. He's also your brother-in-law! Honestly! How could you say something like that?"

"That creature is not Harry!" Ron roared. "The Harry we knew died with my sister and their children. That thing just looks like him sometimes. It isn't human, Hermione, and it will turn on us one of these days. I forbid it from this house, and I don't want the children near it."

"You forbid it? You forbid?! How dare you say that to me! I swear you are the most pig headed, stubborn, close minded-..."

A sharp cracking sound, and a thump on the floor, had Harry ghosting back into the room. Once there, he nearly snarled aloud.

Hermione lay on the floor looking up at Ron in shock, her hand on her swelling cheek. Ron stood over her, looking down at her coldly.

"That has been coming for a long time. I think it's about time you learned how to show me proper respect."

Reaching down, Ron gripped the front of her blouse, dragging her to her feet. He raised a hand to strike her again, but never landed it. He felt something grip his wrist with crushing force, and yank him around. What he saw caused him to shriek in horror.

Harry had abandoned his human form, and had spun Ron around to face him. His eyes were radiant with sickly green light, and an inhuman hiss was issuing from his mouth. He swung Ron over to the couch, letting the red haired man flop down in a relatively soft landing.

"Perhaps it's time I teach you a lesson in respect, Ron, because you don't seem to know what it really means. I-..."

A strange scent wafted into Harry's nostrils, and stopped him cold. He closed his eyes, and sniffed again near Ron's chest. Realizing what the smell was, he again jerked Ron to his feet. With an enraged growl, Harry spun Ron around once more, this time to face Hermione.

"What was her name, Ron?"

Ron's eyes widened, as did Hermione's, but Harry was too livid to notice. He gave Ron a bone rattling shake, and snarled out "What was her name, you bastard?! You have sinned against your mate, and by all that is, I will hear you say it! Who was she?!"

"Who was who? You're not making any sense!"

Harry's voice became a deadly purr.

"Weasley, did you know your heartbeat changes when you lie? These big ears of mine can hear your heart beating now, and when I asked you who she was, you nearly had a heart attack right here. I could hear your heart skip when you lied to me just a moment ago. How long have you been lying to Hermione? Don't lie to me again, you bastard. Who was she?"

Ron opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Harry reached down between his legs and gripped Ron's manhood.

"Just so you know, the next lie out of your mouth will cost you badly."

Ron swallowed thickly, and said "It was our babysitter. She came onto me, and I just went with it."

Harry released him, and shoved him back onto the couch.

"And how long have you and Hermione been arguing about me being less than human?"

"Since the day you went to Azkaban, Harry," came Hermione's tearful voice from behind him. He shape shifted back to human form, and helped Hermione to her feet. Taking a deep breath, Harry said "I had originally come over to ask you for help, Hermione, but maybe I can help you. Come with me."

Ron could only look on helplessly as Harry took Hermione into his arms, shape shifted, and walked into the shadows with her.


End file.
